Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Last Sunday, Jim and I drove to Duluth, MN for the express purpose to see the exhibit of 56 colour and black and white photographs highlighting the work of some of National Geographic's most celebrated photographers. The travelling exhibit created by National Geographic and the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History was a joy to see! I loved the images and appreciated the fact that photos could be taken in the gallery. If you're in the Duluth/Superior area or within easy driving distance, it's definitely worth viewing. It will remain on exhibit at the Duluth Art Institute which is located in the old railroad depot, also worth seeing. I found it interesting that the gallery in which the photographs are shown is named after a celebrated and well-known Native American, Chippewa artist George Morrison, who was married to one of my former colleagues Hazel Belvo.. I really should show you some of Morrison's artwork, too. Stay tuned for more photos which I'll show in the future. To see a video of more remarkable portraits by photographer Steve McCurry, click here!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

It's nice to see a 16-year-old at the business end of a lawn mover. Grandson Dominique keeps our lawn in good shape and earns some walkin' around money as well. This time he earned a little extra for his annual summer fishing trip in Canada.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Instead of flying, last winter we drove to our snowbird destination and took our dog with us. Our son takes care of our house while we're gone, and he got terribly lonesome without Maggi so he adopted a dog of his own. Lexie is a little over one-year-old and is quite a mixture...and quite a handful, in addition. We believe that she has some Shiba Inu in her. She was found on a reservation in South Dakota, living in a dump with one of her puppies. Some kind soul brought her to a rescue shelter where Karl found her and fell in love with the little scamp. Maggi visits our house as often as our human grandkids, and she and our much older dog, Maggi, have become fast friends and are very naughty together. Lexie has given Maggi a new lease on life! If you want a dog, go to a rescue shelter. In the past we've had only one purebred dog, a Norweigan Elkhound, whom we loved, but we gradually switched to shelter dogs because of the over abundance of stray and abandoned animals. We have never been sorry!

To see more Camera Critters, lovely animals from all over the world, click here.

Friday, June 25, 2010

I think that you've seen enough now of the 12th Annual Jazz Festival which was held in St. Paul last week-end so this is my finale of the musicians' photos. A good time was had by all, musicians and audience alike on all three days of jammin.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

One of our favorite groups at the Jazz Festival on Friday, June 19 was John Ellis & Double-Wide. Ellis has played tenor saxophone in both New Orleans and New York, where he is currently based but for this gig, he teamed up with New Orleans Double -Wide musicians, one of whom is drummer, Jason Marsalis. Jason was a fascinating drummer to watch because during the music his posture was ram-rod straight, with none of the bending and swaying normally seen with drummers, but his expressive face reflected the emotional music.

A WONDERFUL WOW!!

Click here to see more wonderful ABC Wednesday Posts from bloggers from all over the world! WOW!

Monday, June 21, 2010

After enjoying the music on Friday afternoon, DH and I decided to return for a longer period on Saturday. Bobby Watson, the saxaphonist you see above sat in for a few sets on Friday and is an obvious local favorite among jazz aficionados so we began our jazz fest by arriving at 4 pm to hear Bobby's group. To hear some of his music and read his bio, click here. Bobby started his career with a turn in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers from 1977-1981. He has produced nearly 30 albums as a bandleader and appears on over 100 recordings (Credit: Jazz Festival program).

Saturday, June 19, 2010

The 3-day FREE 12th annual Twin Cities Jazz Festival kicked off in beautiful Mears Park in downtown St. Paul on Thursday, June 17th. The two stages showcase local and national talent with performances ranging from classic to modern jazz by veterans and up and coming players. (Credit:Twin Cities Jazz Program)
We arrived early on Friday on a sunny afternoon of perfect weather, but had to leave early because we needed to have dinner. We will return again but stay much later on Saturday to hear some more fine musicians. Featured on this post are musicians who have joined Sean Jones, trumpeter: bassist Luques Curtis, Saxaphonist Brian Hogans
pianist, Orrin Evans, and drummer Obed Calvaire. Terrific group!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Although I spend most of my time in St. Paul, last Wednesday I took my granddaughter to Walker Art Center's Sculpture Garden which is a delightful little park with some outstanding pieces of sculpture. Learn more by clicking here.

Whether it is viewed when covered by a soft blanket of snow or through the mist of the water fountain, it is a pleasure to see. It definitely is a Twin Cities icon that you must see if you visit the area.

Claes: "Very often I am sitting at dinner and I take out my notebook. I get very inspired when I eat, for some reason."

Coosje: "One of the things that sculptors who work in an urban surrounding think of is scale, the object in comparison to the other things in the surroundings--buildings, the highway, the Cathedral, lantern posts, anything."--Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen

A highlight of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is the monumental fountain-sculpture Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. While Oldenburg and van Bruggen, his wife and collaborator, have produced a number of large-scale sculptures of everyday objects, such as a flashlight in Las Vegas and a firehouse in Freiburg, Switzerland, Spoonbridge and Cherry is their first fountain sculpture. The giant spoon stretches 52 feet across a small pond shaped like a linden tree seed. A fine stream of water, just enough to make the aluminum cherry gleam, flows over the cherry from the base of the stem. A second stream of water sprays from the top of the stem over the cherry, down into the spoon and the pool below. In winter, snow and ice accumulate on the cherry and the bowl of the spoon, changing the sculpture's character with the seasons. The colossal spoon and cherry required unusual facilities for their construction, and two New England ship-building firms were contracted to build the huge aluminum and steel forms.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

String instruments make my heart sing. Our neighborhood JCC (Jewish Community Center) has an annual series of FREE concerts each year which we always attend. The musicians are dedicated as well as gifted. On May 18, 2009 I posted several photos of the concert I had attended then, also with more explanation. Go here to see more and to read about the program. The new concertmaster is a female who is from Russia, and she has been well-received by the community of music lovers of all faiths. I feel so lucky to be living in this city and especially my neighborhood that prizes the fine arts as it does.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

This morning we drove our grandson to a one-day basketball shooting baskets summer camp at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. At the entrance to the Lunds Community Center stands this sculpture by Paul Granlund, dedicated to the Lunds family for their dedication and support of the college. The spacious center has beautiful gymnasiums and exercise facilities with a fantastic swimming pool!

Paul Granlund, the artist: His Life

Paul T. Granlund, sculptor-in-residence at Gustavus Adolphus College from 1971 until his retirement in 1996, died on Sept. 15, 2003, in Mankato, Minn. In a creative career spanning more than 50 years and more than 650 works, he had been recognized as a premier sculptor throughout the United States and abroad. His figurative bronze sculptures have been installed in public and private settings from Australia to Italy to India, from Minneapolis to Hong Kong.

Granlund won several major competitions for his work, including the Minnesota Governor's competition for a Vietnam War memorial, the Dubuque (Iowa) Five Flags Plaza Bicentennial sculpture competition, and the "International Year of the Adolescent" sculpture competition sponsored by the Wilson Center of Fairbault, Minn. His work has been exhibited at more than 70 one-man shows in galleries and museums in Minneapolis, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and several other cities. In 1987 his sculpture of Charles A. Lindbergh was installed at Le Bourget Field in Paris. Constellation Earth, an eight-foot sphere celebrating the global family, was placed in Peace Park in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1992. Closer to home, castings of his sculptures have been installed at the State Capitol and the World Trade Center in St. Paul, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, at St. Olaf College in Northfield, at the Mayo House in LeSueur, and at Immanuel-St.Joseph's Hospital in Mankato, as well as in a number of churches in the region. More than 30 of his creations have been placed on the Gustavus Adolphus College campus, including the friezes and doors of Christ Chapel.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Recently Molly of A Photo a Day in St. Paul posted her shot of the Cathedral and the Capitol buildings so I thought I'd add this one of the imposing Cathedral.

Architecture

The Cathedral of St. Paul is considered to be one of the most beautiful cathedrals in America. The design is in the Beaux-Art style and was inspired by Renaissance cathedrals in France. The exterior is Minnesotan St. Cloud granite. The interior walls are American Travertine from Mankato, Minnesota, and the interior columns are made of several types of marble.Topping the Cathedral is a 120-foot wide copper dome. A lantern on top of the dome brings the total height of the Cathedral to 306 feet tall from the base to the top of the lantern.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

"If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."

~Toni Morrison

The history of libraries is pretty fascinating, dating back centuries to the first one, probably in China, which was private. Public-funded lending libraries in the United States took a long time to get organized. To find out more about libraries, check this site: The Straight Dope.

Volunteers in my branch library help the regular staff by reading to kids, placing books on shelves, assisting at special functions, and gardening the library grounds. I've spent many happy hours there.

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Although these humble vegetables can be UPSTAGED by other more UPSCALE vegetables like asparagus, the true gourmet appreciates the benefit of adding these ingredients to the kitchen pantry to enhance one's diet and achieve the ULTIMATE in good health!

Monday, June 07, 2010

After the Family Fun Run was completed, three friends pose together before they ran off to picnic and play games. A great way to end the school year! Wishful thinking, but wouldn't it be wonderful if the different cultures of the world and nations embraced one another as these three girls do? Perhaps there's hope?

(Blogger has held some of us hostage for a few days, but I'm back posting again!)

Saturday, June 05, 2010

At the end of the school term the elementary school where my granddaughter Olivia attends holds a traditional and much-loved FAMILY FUN NIGHT. Students, parents, siblings, teachers, and staff all run an appointed one mile route; everyone is awarded a ribbon and T-shirt upon completion. I was amazed at how fast the kids ran and how quickly they were finished. After the run, food, games, and entertainment were enjoyed by all on the school grounds.

Friday, June 04, 2010

I really should thank Randy at Santa Fe Daily Photo who inspired me to stop to photograph these flowers. He posted some poppies on June 2nd, and it inspired me to actually stop instead of just passing by while admiring these lovely flowers. Thanks Randy! Have a good week-end everyone!

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Brittany is currently finishing up her music education degree at the University of Minnesota. She has also performed in numerous ensembles from steel band, to the symphony orchestra, to percussion ensemble. Last summer Brittany was a participant in the annual Nancy Zeltsman Marimba Festival and just recently helped coordinate schedules for the Marimba 2010 International Festival and Conference. Brittany is very passionate about music, especially the love of marimba, and she plans to pursue it outside of school.